our need for God, Thursday

Thursday, March 6

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:  Gracious God, today begins a period of inner reflection and examination. The days stretch before me and invite me inward to that silent, holy space that holds your Spirit. This special time beckons me to see my life through Christ's eyes and the truth and reality of your love incarnate. Give me the grace to enter the space of these days with anticipation of our meeting. And, when I open my soul to your presence, let your loving kindness flow over me and seep into the pockets of my heart. I ask this for the sake of your love.

Scripture Reading for the Day: Luke 7:36-50

Reading for Reflection:

     Lent is traditionally associated with penitence, fasting, almsgiving, and prayer.  It is time for “giving things up” balanced by “giving to” those in need.  Yet whatever else it may be, Lent should never be morose—an annual ordeal during which we begrudgingly forgo a handful of pleasures.  Instead, we ought to approach Lent as an opportunity, not a requirement.  After all, it is meant to be the church’s springtime, a time when, out of the darkness of sin’s winter, a repentant, empowered people emerges.  No wonder one liturgy refers to it as “this joyful season.”

     Put another way, Lent is the season in which we ought to be surprised by joy.  Our self-sacrifices serve no purpose unless, by laying aside this or that desire, we are able to focus on our heart’s deepest longing: unity with Christ.  In him—in his suffering and death, his resurrection and triumph—we find our truest joy.

     Such joy is costly, however.  It arises from the horror of our sin, which crucified Christ.  This is why Meister Eckhart points out that those who have the hardest time with Lent are the “god people.”  Most of us are willing to give up a thing or two; we may also admit our need for renewal.  But to die with Christ?

     Spiritual masters often refer to a kind of “dread,” the nagging sense that we have missed something important and have been somehow untrue—to ourselves, to others, to God.  Lent is a good time to confront the source of that feeling.  It is a time to let go of excuses for failings and shortcomings; a time to stop hanging on to whatever shreds of goodness we perceive in ourselves; a time to ask God to show us what we really look like.  Finally, it is a time to face up to the personal role each of us plays in prolonging Christ’s agony at Golgotha.  As Richard John Neuhaus (paraphrasing John Donne) advises, “Send not to know by whom the nails were driven; they were driven by you, by me.”

     And yet our need for repentance cannot erase the good news that Christ overcame all sin.  His resurrection frees us from ourselves.  His empty tomb turns our attention away from all that is wrong with us and with the world, and spurs us on to experience the abundant life he promises. (Bread and Wine; Readings for Lent and Easter, The Plow Publishing house)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself 

Closing Prayer: O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in trust shall be our strength: by the power of your Spirit lift us, we pray, to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer)

ash wednesday 2014

Wednesday, March 5 (Ash Wednesday)

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:  Gracious God, today begins a period of inner reflection and examination. The days stretch before me and invite me inward to that silent, holy space that holds your Spirit. This special time beckons me to see my life through Christ's eyes and the truth and reality of your love incarnate. Give me the grace to enter the space of these days with anticipation of our meeting. And, when I open my soul to your presence, let your loving kindness flow over me and seep into the pockets of my heart. I ask this for the sake of your love.

Scripture Reading for the Day: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17

Reading for Reflection:

     Ash Wednesday (from the Latin Dies Cinerum, meaning "Day of Ashes") is the first day of Lent.  On this day, we focus intensely on our utter and complete sinfulness and the necessity of Christ's suffering and death to purchase our salvation.  Ashes are referred to many times in the Old Testament as a sign of sorrow, mourning, repentance, and mortality (2 Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:1-3; Job 42:6; and Jeremiah 6:26).  Many churches use ashes during Ash Wednesday services as part of a rite called the Imposition of Ashes.  According to this custom, ashes (traditionally made by burning palm fronds used on Palm Sunday of the previous year) are mixed with a small amount of olive oil and applied to the forehead of each worshipper.  The smudge mark made by the dirty ashes is a powerful reminder that we are all going to die; because death is the high cost of our sinfulness—sin of thought, word, and deed.  The fact that the ashes are placed on our foreheads in the sign of the cross focuses us on Jesus, the only way to forgiveness, salvation, and life eternal.

 

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, as we enter this season of Lent, give us the courage and the strength to fully face both our sinfulness and our great need of your mercy and grace.  May these next days and weeks help us to see the high cost of our sin, and the unfathomable depths of your love.  In your name we pray.  Amen

our need for God, Tuesday

Tuesday, March 4

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

 Opening Prayer:  Gracious God, today begins a period of inner reflection and examination. The days stretch before me and invite me inward to that silent, holy space that holds your Spirit. This special time beckons me to see my life through Christ's eyes and the truth and reality of your love incarnate. Give me the grace to enter the space of these days with anticipation of our meeting. And, when I open my soul to your presence, let your loving kindness flow over me and seep into the pockets of my heart. I ask this for the sake of your love.

Scripture Reading for the Day: Luke 9:51-62

Reading for Reflection:

     Lent begins tomorrow.  It is that hard, but incredibly good season that begins the most sacred part of the Christian year.  It is the time where we journey with Christ to the cross.  It is the time where we set our face to go to Jerusalem like Jesus did.  It is the time where we see both the enormous cost of our sin, and the enormous love of our Savior.  It is the season where we celebrate the incredible mystery that life always follows death and resurrection always comes after crucifixion.  It is a time where we celebrate the truth that, for God’s people, suffering and sadness and pain and brokenness and death do not have the final word, but life (God) does.  Thus, it is a season where we are invited by God to come and die, that we may live.
     Lent is a forty-day period, not including Sundays, that is meant to echo the forty days Jesus spent in the desert, as well as the forty days Moses spent on the mountain with God.  It begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes on Easter Sunday.  Sundays are not included in the forty-day count because every Sunday is a joyful celebration of our Lord's resurrection—a Little Easter.  The word Lent is derived from the Old English lencten, which means “spring”; that transitional time between late winter and early summer in which our world begins to wake up from its slumber and come to life once again.

 

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus thank you for being willing to go all the way to the cross for me.  Give me the strength and courage in the days and weeks ahead to set my face to go to the cross with you, whatever that may mean.  Amen.

our need for God, Monday

Monday, March 3

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

 Opening Prayer:  Gracious God, today begins a period of inner reflection and examination. The days stretch before me and invite me inward to that silent, holy space that holds your Spirit. This special time beckons me to see my life through Christ's eyes and the truth and reality of your love incarnate. Give me the grace to enter the space of these days with anticipation of our meeting. And, when I open my soul to your presence, let your loving kindness flow over me and seep into the pockets of my heart. I ask this for the sake of your love.

Scripture Reading for the Day: Isaiah 58:1-14

Reading for Reflection:

     There are few things more beautiful than a well-watered garden.  They are so vibrant, so fragrant, and so full of life.  There is nothing as sad, on the other hand, as a sun-scorched land—dead, brown, and lifeless.  Needless to say, watering seems to be a pretty important part of the equation.  But what does that look like?

     In this passage, Isaiah tells us that there is a certain fruitfulness that comes about in our souls when we have direct encounters with those in great need.  Somehow, when we give ourselves completely to God and to his work, it produces a type of spring within us whose waters do not fail.  In some mysterious way, when we pour ourselves out on behalf of the poor, the broken, the naked, the lost, the hungry, and the oppressed, something happens in our hearts and souls that releases a flow of life, health, healing, and wholeness.  We become like a well-watered garden—His well-watered garden.

 

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Closing Prayer: Lord God, help me to be fully committed to the type of fasting that pleases you the most, so that I might be a well-watered garden of your delight.  In the name of Jesus I pray.  Amen.

Transfiguration Sunday

Sunday, March 2 (Transfiguration Sunday)

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Gracious God, today begins a period of inner reflection and examination. The days stretch before me and invite me inward to that silent, holy space that holds your Spirit. This special time beckons me to see my life through Christ's eyes and the truth and reality of your love incarnate. Give me the grace to enter the space of these days with anticipation of our meeting. And, when I open my soul to your presence, let your loving kindness flow over me and seep into the pockets of my heart. I ask this for the sake of your love.

Scripture Reading for the Day: Matthew 17:1-9

Reading for Reflection:

     Today is the day set aside by the Church to celebrate, and reflect upon, the wonderful encounter three of the disciples had with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.  Surely it was an experience that marked them deeply and did a work within them that had to find an outward expression—both to God and to others—in the days and weeks ahead.  To see the glory of Jesus, and to hear the voice of the Father, must have had an eternal impact on these three very ordinary men. 

     And isn’t that our deepest hope for the time we spend with God each day as well?  That we would see him and hear him with such clarity that it would transform us forever?  That is my hope for the time we will spend with him in the days, weeks, and months ahead.  I pray that we might truly encounter Jesus and be forever changed as a result.  And I pray that as we are transformed more and more into his image, that our world would be eternally impacted as well.

 

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

 
Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for inviting me to the mountain with you today, and every day.  Thank you for desiring my company, longing for my attention, and yearning for my transformation.  May I give all of those to you this day.  In your name, amen.

coming soon

Just wanted to let you know that I'm going to start posting some new (or, in some cases, modified) daily thoughts, scripture, and prayers on this blog in a few weeks as we prepare for, and begin, Lent.  So be on the lookout.  His Peace to you!

advent 2013

¹¹ And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:11-12)

 It is amazing how easily we can get lulled to sleep at times.  And if you think it is easy for us, imagine the people of God trying to stay awake through four hundred years of God's silence.  I guess that's why the season of Advent is so significant, because it asks us to stay awake and to wait in eager expectation, anticipating Christ's return at any moment.  It is an actively passive waiting, if that's possible.  We cannot control how, or when, or where He will come, so, in that sense, it must be passive.  We can, however, control how we will wait.  Therefore, it must also always be active.  We must stay on our toes, or on our tiptoes one might say.  We must be on the edge of our seats, and not settled back into the comfort and ease of our La-Z-Boy.  We must stay ready, both watching and waiting.  That is the kind of wakefulness that Advent calls for.  We must keep our spiritual wits about us.  We must be careful to do the things that keep our souls most awake and alert, whatever those things may be.  Because, ultimately, Christ will come.  And when he does, will he find us ready?  Let us pay careful attention therefore, during this time and this season, for the many ways in which he comes.  He will, in fact, come to us today.  And, if we are paying careful attention, maybe we will see him, and hear him, when he does.  One can only hope.

If you are interested in following the church calendar on this blog, you can start Here and work your way forward.  The first theme of the Advent season on here is Attention. 

Also, if you are ever interested in leaving a comment, please do.  I would love to hear how God is working within you.

Grace and Peace,
Jim